Fermi Creates the First Controlled Nuclear Fission Chain Reaction
At a glance:
- Series: Great Events from History II: Science and Technology Series
- Categories: Science
- Subcategories: Scientists, Physics, Physicists, Nuclear Weapons, Power, Radiation
- Curriculum: American History 1901-1950, Italian History, 20th & 21st Century European History, Canadian History
- Geographical Location: Chicago
- Date: December 2, 1942
Article abstract: Fermi’s team demonstrated that nuclear energy could be released in a sustained chain reaction, leading to the development of the atomic bomb and nuclear fission electric power plants.
Summary of Event
In December, 1938, Enrico Fermi, a professor of physics in Rome, took advantage of his 1938 Nobel Prize in Physics to leave his native Italy and escape Adolf Hitler’s increasing domination of Benito Mussolini’s Italy. With his family, Fermi arrived in New York City and settled down to continue his research at Columbia...
[The entire page is 2004 words long]
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